Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce backs governor’s ABC plan

Gov. Bob McDonnell’s plan for getting Virginia out of the liquor business picked up an important business ally Friday in traffic-congested Northern Virginia. The 500-member Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to the governor expressing its support of a plan to privatize the state’s liquor stores, a move that would provide a one-time infusion of $458 million for transportation needs.

Chamber President Jim Corcoran said transportation remained his group’s top policy priority and “the commonwealth’s greatest challenge. Over the past few years, we have worked in a bipartisan manner with the General Assembly and with local government to alleviate congestion.”

Although the amount McDonnell says could be raised through the sale of liquor licenses to the private sector “does not address the total monetary need to alleviate the commonwealth’s transportation crisis, we believe it is a reasonable option for consideration in building a plan to fully fund the transportation needs for Virginia,” the letter said.

The chamber has a long-standing policy of encouraging privatization of government services, Corcoran said, because it fosters increased competition for consumers and helps identify cost efficiencies. It backed McDonnell’s bid for governor in 2009.